


you just gotta have faith

by kindalosingit



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Adopt Dogs, Adoption, All the fluff lovelies, Anniversary celebration, Dog fic, Established Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I suck at tagging, Just Lots and Lots of Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Plot Twist, Surprises, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, enjoy, honestly there aren't enough dog fics out there, i hope you will enjoy this, proposal, there are no triggers just a lot of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 08:34:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13291128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kindalosingit/pseuds/kindalosingit
Summary: “You know, sometimes I was so scared. I thought I’d never get the chance,” Louis said quietly, squeezing Harry’s fingers and shaking his hair out of his eyes.“The chance to do what, Lou?” Harry asked looking curiously at the boy walking backwards in front of him while holding both of his hands.“The chance to love you,” he replied quietly. “But now we’ve been together for two whole years Haz, can you believe it? I always knew in my heart that you were it for me, you know? You were always the silver lightning in everything, the one person I’d always look for, the one I have always wanted to come back to, no matter what. You have always been my best friend, and I can’t believe how lucky I am to get to call you my boyfriend, to share my life with you. How crazy is it? You make me so strong and you make my life so much better, baby.”Or the one in which Harry and Louis met four years ago, have now been dating for two whole years and Louis is ready to take their relationship to the next level. Alternatively, the one in which they adopt a dog.





	you just gotta have faith

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys!
> 
> So, this is my very first work and I'm so excited to share it with you. The idea just came to me and I knew right away I had to write it. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
>  
> 
> Come find me on [tumblr](http://honeylout.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated! <3
> 
> Disclaimer: obviously I am not, in any way, affiliated to One Direction. This work is completely fiction and should not be taken as a representation of the reality.

 

It’s close to 2 P.M. and Louis can barely see, his eyes almost shut because of the smile threatening to take over his whole face. All he could feel was the wind on his face and the electric feel that was running down his spine from having his fingers intertwined with Harry’s.

“Come on, Curly, don’t go getting slow on me now,” he shouts looking over his shoulder to be heard over the wind “we are so close now!”

“We’ve been close for half an hour, Lou! Stop lying to me and stop taking turns, you know we don’t have all day,” he yells back at him, but Louis knows he’s not annoyed, can see it on the smile on his face and the way he hasn’t stopped smile since Louis announced they were going on a belated adventure to celebrate their anniversary.

The last Sunday morning of May was the one that marked their two year anniversary. Harry had woken Louis up with kisses all over his face and a breakfast in bed filled with all the things he loved: strawberry pancakes, toast, jam, tea (with a splash of milk and a pinch of sugar that had taken Harry a lot more time than he’d have liked to admit to learn how to perfect) and freshly squeezed orange juice. He still couldn’t believe how lucky he had been to have found such an amazing boy to share his life and love with. They had spent the day in bed, sharing lazy kisses and touches, recalling their favourite moments of their relationship, pointing out all the little things and little quirks they loved in each other and how much they appreciated one another and what they had built together.

They had met around four years ago, when Louis was fresh out of his first day of class as a senior in the University of Manchester, and had literally run into a wide eyed freshman that had been rounding the corner of the Arts building he was leaving. The boy had been too distracted looking around to actually pay attention to where he was going and thus had accidently bumped into the blue eyed lad, spilling the remnant contents of his, thank god, now cold, tea on the guy’s shirt.

“Oops!” He had said, mouth hanging open, not really knowing what to do. “I’m so sorry! I should have been more careful. I honestly didn’t see you coming! I was so busy looking around, you know how it is, it’s my first day and this campus is fucking huge and all the buildings are amazing and so full of people and life and I have been exploring and I think I honestly got a little lost. But there are so many angles to photograph! Anyway, I’m so sorry. I bet this was the last thing you were expecting today. God, I’m such a moron-”

“Hi,” Louis had said, a little breathless himself after having heard the boy nervously ramble on and on. “Hey, take a breather, mate! It’s alright, at least you didn’t do it on purpose, huh?” He teased with a smile gracing his face.

“Oh, no! I’d never do that,” Harry said with a blush on his cheeks, clearly too nervous to catch on the teasing. “Truly, I’m so sorry. Do you need me to wash your hoodie? Honestly, that would be no trouble, I can even buy you a new one if you need. I hope it doesn’t stain, tea doesn’t stain, right?” He asked rambling on and looking bewildered.

“Hey, relax!” Louis said with a smile on his face, laughing a little bit. “I’m serious, it's alright, really. Happens to the best of us and I know how overwhelming your first day around here can be. Please don’t bother with me, it’s really fine.”

“If you insist. I’m so embarrassed though,” Harry says, laughing a little in spite of himself. “At least, let me buy you a cuppa or something to eat. I feel so bad. You definitely weren’t expecting this incident today and it’s the least I could do.” He honestly felt bad, but he also wouldn’t mind sitting down to chat and getting to know the absolutely gorgeous boy in front of him that had shown him nothing but kindness.

“Alright,” the guy answered with a shrug still smiling. “I can guarantee now you’ll never see me turning down a cup of tea. I know a place close enough of here that sells, hands down, the absolute best tea you’ll ever have in this University”.

“That sounds good,” Harry said nodding his head. “I’m Harry Styles, by the way. It’s nice to meet you, I guess,” he chuckles feeling a little embarrassed still.

“I’m Louis Tomlinson. Really nice to meet you, mate!” he says smiling at Harry. “Gotta say you just made my afternoon a little more interesting.”

“Glad to be of service,” Harry replied, smiling. “Just let me say I’m sorry once again, I’m just a little clumsy and I guess easily fascinated and distracted today," he said shaking his hands and running a hand through his shoulder length curls that had been falling into his eyes.

“Oh please Curly, quit apologizing,” Louis said gesturing absently with his hand. “It’s fine. Come on, let’s go this way. I’ll guide you through the University, I promise to point out all the best spots for you ‘till we get to the coffeeshop. Oh, while we are at it, what about some lunch? I just got out of the most boring class and I’m starved,” he had said with a wink, putting his arm over Harry’s shoulders and guiding him away.

That was how they met over four years ago and how their friendship started. Granted, the friendship aspect of things had extended itself a little more than either of them had expected when you take into account how utterly gone for each other they were from the get go. It took a couple years for them to figure out their shit and get together, but eventually they got there and they would never trade their history and all the moments that shaped and guided them to each other for anything else.

Now it was around four years later and Louis had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to exclaim indignantly at Harry “Oh please! We can go on all day, today is a special day reserved to us, Harold! I’d say a special week even! Don’t even try to spoil it now. I know you think I have been dragging you aimlessly for half an hour-”

“Haven’t you?” Harry asked with an arched eyebrow and a smirk.

“Excuse me, Harold! I most certainly have not. I have a very well thought out plan for having woken you up from your sacred nap, might I add on a Thursday afternoon nonetheless, god forbid you lose your beauty sleep,” he rambled on teasingly. He had been thinking about this for awhile now, they had been together and committed to each other for two years, with more than two years of friendship over their belts and Louis knew, even as young as they were, that Harry was it for him. He knew they were going to keep choosing to be together for the rest of their lives, loving and cherishing each other no matter what and he was ready to make things more serious with Harry. He was certain they were ready for it. Hence all the surprise.

“You know I had an early shift at the bookshop today and if it weren’t for a certain someone I would have gotten a good, well rested night of sleep last night -” Harry was justifying himself and Louis watched him with a smile on his lips.

“Well, I’m so sorry for having forced you through the hardship of having to watch a shit ton of Ryan Gosling movies in a row last night. I’m sure it must have been troubling for you to spend time with your favorite boys,” he said rolling his eyes with a smirk on his face.

“Oh, Ryan was my favorite all right,” Harry replied teasingly.

“Oh, I see how it is! I’m sure your boy Ryan can make you very happy then. Go see if Ryan does what I’m about to do for you then! Go ahead! I’m sure you’ll have many happy years together ahead of you while I’ll be getting old and bitter. I can even see the headlines “Big Shot writer and photographer Harry Styles snatches Ryan Gosling”, “Reported! Ryan Gosling divorced and now ready to start new chapter of his life with Harry Styles”, “Gosling and Styles have been thinking about taking the next st-” Harry interrupts him with a kiss. When they separate he shakes his head with a smile on his lips.

“You are ridiculous, Lou!” he says fondly, caressing Louis’ cheek with his thumb. “You know you are the only one for me. Have been since I accidently spilled my tea all over you and will be fifty years from now. Forever.”

“I know, baby, I know,” Louis said, the smile now fond and his eyes full of adoration for the boy right in front of him. “I have loved you since you were eighteen Harry and I promise to keep going ‘till we are eighty and you have the whole world on your fingertips. You are destined to do so many great things, love, I just know. I knew from the very first moment I laid my eyes on you and I’m so thankful and blessed to be the one you chose to be with you along the way," he confessed and pecked Harry’s lip, his thumb clearing the single tear that had fallen from those green eyes. “We have so many great things ahead of us, H. I can feel it in my bones, all the happiness that’s waiting for us.”

“God, Lou! I love you so much. I honestly can’t even think how my life would have turned out had I not ran into you. You made me fall in love with my life, with every single thing it has to offer and you give me the courage and strength to face the world and its challenges every single day. I’m so grateful for being on the receiving end of your love, Lou. To be able to call you mine, my sweet creature, it’s something I’ll never take for granted.” Harry leaned in to kiss Louis, their breaths shaky and their smiles to big to be able to properly kiss. But damn, he had just completed two years of being able to love this boy the way he deseeved and he was going to be damn sappy about it.

“You always know how to activate the tear ducts, Harold!” Louis said shaking his head fondly.

“Well, what can I say, it’s a gift," he said shrugging.

“It really is,” Louis agreed.

They had been wandering aimlessly, according to Harry, for awhile now, but not according to Louis thank you very much. They were holding hands, swinging their arms as they walked and talking quietly to each other. It was moments like this that were always the most precious to Louis, just how close and comfortable they had always been around each other, even during rough times before they started dating where it seemed they would never be able to get their shit together and were destined to being platonic best friends with too much feelings for each other to be just best friends but also too much baggage to sort through to start something new. He knew these days were long behind them and to be quite honest nearly forgotten, but it just made him all the more appreciative of what he and Harry had been building together.

“You know, sometimes I was so scared. I thought I’d never get the chance," Louis said quietly, squeezing Harry’s fingers and shaking his hair out of his eyes.

“The chance to do what, Lou?” Harry asked looking curiously at the boy walking backwards in front of him while holding both of his hands.

“The chance to love you,” he replied. “But now we’ve been together for two whole years Haz, can you believe it? And so much has happened to try to keep us apart, so much pain and heartbreak has been in our way, but I just… I always knew in my heart that you were it for me, you know? You were always the silver lightning in everything, the one person I’d always look for, the one I have always wanted to come back to, no matter what. You have always been my best friend, and I can’t believe how lucky I am to get to call you my boyfriend, to share my life with you. How crazy is it? You make me so strong and you make my life so much better, baby.”

“Lou…” Harry said with his lips trembling.

“Shh, baby! Shh! No more tears, this is a happy moment, alright?” Louis said, a big smile breaking through his face. “I’m just so thankful for you, for everything we have been through and for knowing I’ll have you by my side for what’s yet to come”.

“I love you so much, Lou! So, so much. Sometimes I feel like my heart could burst with how much love and affection it carries for you. You are everything to me, baby. I’m so happy that I get to spend the rest of my life loving you.” He pulled Louis into a tight hug and they stayed there, in the middle of the swamped sidewalk swaying a little bit and most certainly annoying the people who were trying to walk, but they didn’t care. At that moment, their only worry was to hold each other.

They continued to walk around London for another 5 minutes, soon enough Louis could finally see their destination.

“Alright, sappy pants,” Louis said smiling kindly. “No more tears, okay? We are almost there, anyway. I just can’t wait to see your face when we get there.” He was honestly so excited, Harry was going to love it, he could feel the tremble of excitement in his stomach.

“So you really mean to tell me we haven’t been walking aimlessly this whole time?” Harry asked pretending to be shocked.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Harold!” Louis says with a roll of his eyes while Harry was giggling like a five year old.

“So… where are we really going?” He asked poking Louis ribs making him squeal an indignant sound he would never own up to out loud and making the younger boy giggle even more.

“It’s a surprise young Harold, I’m sure you have heard of those," he said teasingly. “Guess you’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?”

“So mean, Lou! You know I’m curious and you’ve been hinting at this surprise since Sunday and now it’s Thursday and you still haven’t spilled anything. Not even a tip or anything. That’s not kind at all.” Harry complained.

“Aw, poor baby, I’m sure you can get over your boyfriend being that mean to you," he said pinching Harry’s cheek. “We are almost there sweetcheeks, hang in there. I promise it’s gonna be worth it,” Louis promised, he was trying very hard to hold his tongue a little bit longer. It was killing him to keep this secret from Harry, he was so excited to share it with him and see how he would react.

The original idea had come from Lottie, who had been volunteering at this charity in London for a little over two months now.

“There are so many of them, Lou!” she had said “and they are all adorable and deserve to have a home. I wish there was more I could do! The things they have been through are just awful. It just breaks my heart to see first hand how fucking ill intended some people can be.” And that was how the idea cemented itself on Louis brain. It was such an admirable project and he was sure Harry would have been on board either way. It was the perfect way to celebrate their 2 year anniversary, but also to take their relationship to the next step. They were ready for it.

They were in front of the shop now, not that Harry was completely aware of that.

“We are here, love,” Louis whispered while guiding Harry to stand still. God, he was so nervous and it was just silly. _Just do it, Tomlinson, go on!_ he coached himself, trying to get ready.

“H,” Louis said, excitement thrumming through his bones, a smile so big taking over this face. He got down on one knee and took the item - that had been hidden in the flat for over two weeks now - out of his pocket to hold behind his back, away from Harry’s searching eyes. “I have something to ask you. We have known each other for nearly 5 years now and I’m ready to fully start my life, completely committed to you. I know we are still young and he have so many plans for our future, so many goal to achieve yet and I can feel it in my bones how much brighter our lives will be with this. I know we are too young to get married and I also know we are not quite there yet, but I think we are ready for this.” Louis paused his little speech to take a big breath and finally ask Harry what has been on his mind for awhile now. “Harry Edward Styles, will you adopt a dog with me?” he asked Harry presenting him with a blue and green dog collar. The younger boy was speechless, his eyes wide and swimming with emotion while his mouth was hanging open.

“You, I, Lou- Geez….” he stuttered his way and his expression that at first had been shocked, turned to surprised and now was finally settling on happy, a giggle making its way out of his mouth. “You little shit!” he exclaimed shaking his head and covering his mouth as if he couldn’t believe what Louis, who had an incredible fond smile on his face, had just done. “You absolute little shit," he said laughing now, a gorgeous smile occupying almost his whole face “I will, Lou! Of course, I will,” he replied laughing as he threw himself on Louis, hugging him tight. “Fuck, yes!

“Was getting worried for a sec,” Louis said, rubbing between Harry’s shoulder blades.

“Only you, Lou,” Harry told him shaking his head. “I swear one of this days you are gonna be the death of me,” he said fondly. “I love you so much, Lou! Thank you for this, thank you for believing in us and recognizing our needs and our timing. Let’s go start our family!”

“Let’s go, love!” Louis said pecking him as they started walking to the door of the shopping. “This is just the beginning of forever for us, you’ll see!”

“I can’t wait,” he said pecking Louis forehead.

They walked through the doors of the “All Dogs Matter” charity, a bell ringing above their heads.

“Will be right there with you!” a voice yelled from a door on the back.

“So, remember how Lottie was talking to us about this charity she started working for?” Louis asked Harry squeezing his hand while Harry nodded. “Turns out it’s this one. She was going on and on about how many dogs are mistreated and abused and just never get a chance at being loved and having a real home, you know? And something in me just clicked, H! I swear, just the thought of us being able to love and give a home to a dog who never knew what that was like seemed like the perfect idea for us, and I guess that’s how we ended up here,” he finished with a little shrug.

“It’s perfect, Lou! It truly is," Harry said smiling. “I'm so happy we get to help them and I also have always wanted a dog. The thought of giving a home to one with you? That’s literally my dreams coming true. This dog will be so loved, I know we’ll be amazing humans to them,” his eyes were bright, the smile on his face was mesmerizing.

Before Louis could reply a man was walking through the door and greeting them at the small reception space. The place was decorated with pictures of dogs all around, the man greeted then with a smile on his face, settling near the desk. “Good afternoon, mates! How can I help you?”

“Hello!” Louis replied while Harry gave a little wave. “We are interested in adopting one of your dogs, today if possible,” he said and Harry gave a reassuring nod.

“We most certainly can help you with that,” he said smiling. “My name is Greg, I have been working in the All Dogs Matter charity for over five years now and I can walk you through the process, if you'd like.”

“That’s good” Harry replied smiling. “We are Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson,” he said pointing to each of them “and we are very excited to be able to take one of your dogs home”.

“That’s always nice to hear!” Greg said. “Nice to meet you! Tell me, do you know a little about how the charity operates?” He asked.

Harry shook his head while Louis replied affirmatively explaining that he was aware of how the process worked and that he had already taken care of all the necessary measures to guarantee they could take a dog home with them today, but he signaled that Greg could walk them through it regardless so that Harry was thoroughly involved in the process.

“Alright!” Greg said “So, we are a small team of passionate animal lovers who work with several local council authorities to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome the many abandoned dogs that come in everyday. We also take in dogs from members of the public who can no longer look after them," he explained while the boys nodded. “Our adoption system works normally through appointments and through a re-homing questionnaire.” Louis nodded assuring him that he had made an appointment and that he had a questionnaire printed that just needed to be completed with the dog specific information.

“That’s great!” Greg nodded appreciatively “we work with a fee between £120 and £200 that covers vaccination, neutering and microchip. We also need to do a homecheck before allowing a dog to go home with you.” He finished explaining “those are usually the standard procedures, but I’m under the information that all you need to do is finish filling the questionnaire and then proceed to meet our dogs, is that correct?” Greg asked while searched the information under ‘Louis Tomlinson’ he had on his archives.

“That is correct,” Louis agreed and Harry squeezed his fingers one more time.

“So,” Harry started “can we move on to the dog meeting part now? I’m very excited to bring one to our home,” he said smiling and they all chuckled.

“Yes,” Greg agreed smiling “we can do that right now. Please, follow me!” He said and gestured for the boys to follow them to the door he had come through before.

“I’m so excited, Lou!” Harry kept whispering while Louis nodded and kept rubbing his lower back.

“I know, love!” Louis replied. “I can’t wait to bring one home.”

“It’s too bad we can only bring one,” Harry pouted.

“I know,” Louis agreed “Wish we had a big backyard that could be filled with all of them."

“Alright, lads!” Greg stopped them in front of where the dogs were located. They were on big, individual cages and Harry and Louis walked to them, petting and talking to all the dogs while Greg told them a bit more about their background and where they had been rescued from.

They were almost at the end when Harry suddenly stopped and grabbed Louis hand whispering “Lou, that’s the one!”.

The dog was medium sized with an all black fur, if you ignored the one white stripe it had. Louis was immediately gripped by her brown eyes and her little mouth stretched wide open with the tongue hanging out.

“That’s Faith,” Greg informed them. “She is around 5 years old and was rescued from negative temperatures in Romania where she was kept in a shed. She’s a very sweet girl, aren’t you lil Faith?” Greg said opening her cage while Louis and Harry kneeled down, eager to welcome her. “She loves giving kisse- Oh, just like that!” He exclaimed as Faith was standing on her back legs, paws on Harry’s shoulder kissing his ear while they laughed and Louis petted her back. “She likes nice walks, but can be a little nervous around new situations. She absolutely loves food and treats, which helps a lot with her training. She sleeps through the night, she’s already house trained and travels well by car," Greg observed the boys utterly infatuated with her. “She can be yours if you want.”

Louis and Harry only shared a single, meaningful look before Louis was nodding and saying to Greg “We’ll take her. Come on Faith, it’s time to go home”.

Later that night, they were laying down on their bed, legs tangled together and a happy, cute, little dog sprawled between them. Harry and Louis were trading pecks, their bed and their little flat filled with love, a feeling of _home_ and a lot more of Faith now.

“Thank you for dog proposing me, Lou,” Harry said quietly.

“It was my pleasure, love," Louis replied pecking his lips one more time. “Now let’s enjoy our first night as a family.”

“I can’t wait for many more to come,” Harry whispered placing his head on Louis shoulder and Faith on his chest as they all drifted off to sleep.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.
> 
> If you are reading this, thank you so much for reading "you just gotta have faith"!
> 
> You can find a reblog post about the fic right [here](http://honeylout.tumblr.com/post/169400262243)!
> 
> The "All Dogs Matter" is a serious charity located in London and you can find more information about it on their [website](https://alldogsmatter.co.uk/). I'm not really familiar with their work, and all the information used was extracted from their website and adapted to fit the purpose of the fic. However, I personally fully encourage the adoption of dogs or any other animals for that matter, as it's an amazing experience.
> 
> Once again, thank you so much! 
> 
> Let me know what you think on the comments or on [tumblr](http://honeylout.tumblr.com/).


End file.
